


Etiquette

by JewishDavidJacobs



Series: David & Judaism [4]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Canon Era, Discussion of college quotas, Fluff, M/M, So…that’s fun, just guys being dudes, two boys sitting on a rooftop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:48:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24123115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JewishDavidJacobs/pseuds/JewishDavidJacobs
Summary: Jack keeps David company as he does his homework and learns a little more about his life outside of selling papers.Or, David has to read a ridiculous book, Jack is impatient, and they’re both terrible at flirting.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Series: David & Judaism [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1703293
Comments: 2
Kudos: 81





	Etiquette

“So…”

“Jack,” David sighed, “I told you you could stay if you let me do my work, okay?” 

“Fine.” The silence lasted less than ninety seconds. “I’m bored.”

“Jack!” He snapped his notebook shut. They were on the roof of the Jacobs’ building. It was evening, the sun was slowly setting, and David was doing his best to get his schoolwork done while it was still light out. The idea of having to sit inside and do it by candlelight with no escape from his family members who didn’t know the meaning of lowering one’s voice was an unappealing one. “Please!”

“Dave-”

“You’re the one who wanted to stay! Why did you even bother if you were going to be bored?”

“Because I wanted to spend time with you,” he grumbled, looking a little embarrassed. “I never see you anymore ‘cept when we’re selling and most of the time that’s with your brother and I love him but…”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped. I’ll be done for now.” Jack perked up. 

“For real?”

“Why not? If I do my work later at least I won’t have to be the one to put Les to sleep.” Jack hopped up and moved to sit beside him. David laughed.

“Somebody’s eager,” he teased, bumping his shoulder. 

“I mean, that wasn’t what I was headed for but if you’re offering…”

“Shut up.” He put his head on Jack’s shoulder and sighed. “I’m tired.”

“How much work you got left?”

“Don’t know,” he shrugged. “Probably an hour or two.”

“What? That’s insane. Don’t these people know kids gotta work?”

“Jack, none of the other kids at my school work. You know that.”

“Still. They should have some respect for ya.” 

“Thanks, Jacky,” he smiled. “You’re sweet.”

“I’m not trying to be! Are all the teachers rich too? Don’t they understand?”

“Most of them probably are.”

“But they’re teachers, Dave. Katherine told me they don’t make enough money.”

“They don’t but that’s public school - although must private school teachers don’t either. Still, I’m pretty sure most of them come from rich families.”

“What?”

“Yeah, I think I heard that-”

“You go to  _ private  _ school?”

“Oh. Yeah,” he mumbled, embarrassed. He knew the other newsies thought of him as some stuck up, rich guy and that certainly wouldn’t help his image. 

“How? They cost money.”

“I know,” David chuckled. “I got a scholarship.”

“You did? How’d that happen? I thought that was for colleges.”

“I think it is most of the time. When I was eleven my teacher showed up at the door. She came because she wanted my parents to let her take me to see her new brother-in-law.”

“What? That sounds real weird, Dave.”

“That’s basically what my parents said. Turns out her sister had just gotten married to one of the teachers at my current school. He came from a poor family too and asked her to recommend a student from her class. He convinced the board to let in an ‘underprivileged student’ for free.”

“Why?”

“Good press. She took me to his office one day and he made me take a test and he talked to me for a few hours. That was that.” 

“Christ. I can’t believe that happened.”

“Yeah. I was ridiculously lucky she picked me.”

“No, I mean that your teacher got to do that. Of course she picked you, dumbass. You’re the smartest person there is.” 

“That’s not true but…thanks. I’m just worried the boys are going to hate me for it if they find out.”

“Hate you for being smart? Dave, they already know that.”

“Hate me for going to a fancy school or whatever.”

“They won’t,” he said and David scoffed. “They won’t, Dave. Don’t be unfair to them. They love you and would be happy for you.”

“They always mock me for-”

“I’ll tell them to knock it off if you want, but it’s just their way of showing they love you. Friends tease each other.” 

“I guess I’ve never really had any friends before.”

“What? You haven’t?”

David scoffed.

“You were there the first time we met, right? I can be…off-putting to people.”

“Not to me. Not to any of the fellas. Where’d you get that crazy idea from, huh?” Jack put his arm around David’s neck and gave him a brief noogie before he was pushed off, both of them laughing. 

“You’re an idiot.”

“I know,” Jack said, grinning dopily. “Seriously, Dave, why do you think that?” 

He shrugged. 

“I don’t know. I guess I’m always defensive when I meet people because I’m just used to them not liking me so I figure I might as well get it started early instead of setting myself up for disappointment.” He gave a weak laugh. “It’s stupid. I was sorta quiet when I was younger; timid, I guess. Sarah did all the talking for the both of us and that was the way we liked it. I didn’t have anyone really picking on me much in school with the exception of a few boys who were wary of Jews.”

“Really? That young?”

David nodded. 

“Yeah. They were the minority though, because it’s a Jewish neighborhood, so I didn’t feel it as much, you know? And it’s not like  _ everyone  _ at school now is awful about it. A lot of them don’t care but…the ones that do,  _ do _ .

“Anyway, I started there a year after everyone else, so they already had their friends. Plus, I’m poor, nerdy, shy, and Jewish. There are definitely some guys who are apathetic to me but for the most part…well, let’s just say nobody ever stops the people who pick on me.”

Jack looked at him sadly. 

“So most of them pick on you?”

“No, not most of them. Or, I guess it is but with the vast majority of them it’s just little comments here or there or laughing along with the others’ jokes but there’s certainly a core group of them.”

“How many?”

David thought for a moment.

“Six? Seven? It’s a small class, only twenty-two of us all together.” 

“Do you like any of them?”

“Yeah,” he assured Jack, nodding. “Yeah, there’s this boy John who’s kind and another one called Nicholas; they’re both friendly.”

“But they don’t stand up for you? Do they not see it happening?” 

“Oh they see it,” David said, chuckling darkly. “It would be social suicide to defend me. Plus, it wouldn’t help and then it would just be all three of us getting soaked and that doesn’t help anybody. Nicholas says hi in the hallway if nobody is around and John secretly left his notes in my bag when I got back to help me catch up; that was nice.” 

David expected Jack to be happy about that but he just seemed more frustrated than before. 

“One of them says hi to you sometimes and that makes you happy? You’re satisfied with that?”

David rolled his eyes. 

“I’m not  _ satisfied  _ with it but I’m not going to have friends in school and I’m okay with that. I  _ am _ , Jacky,” he added when he saw the look on Jack’s face.

“It don’t seem fair.”

“Jack, since I became a newsie I have more friends than I know what to do with. I love all the fellas and Katherine and Medda. And by the way, if I didn’t have them but I still had you? That would be enough.”

Jack stared at him. 

“For real?”

“Of course, dummy. You and Sarah are the only things that keep me sane in this world. I mean, Les too but there’s only so much I can talk to a nine year old about.” He reached over and put a hand on Jack’s arm where it was resting on his knees.

“Seriously, Jack, don’t worry so much, okay? It doesn’t bother me but either way I’m done with school in less than a year and then I won’t have to see those people ever again.”

Jack nodded. He seemed to be avoiding David’s gaze, his eyes moving around in a way that was probably intended to look careless, but ended up looking nervous. They landed on one of David’s books and he reached for it. 

“What’cha reading?” He looked at the cover. “Is this a book on how to write letters? Don’t you just…write ‘em? ‘Dear Dave, It’s Jack. How are you? Come sell with me. From, Jack.’”

David smiled. 

“Etiquette is important if I want to go to college.”

“Do you?” 

Jack looked a little upset by the idea. David tried to be casual about it and shrugged.

“In theory. I probably won’t, because I’m not going to be able to afford it unless I get a huge scholarship which isn’t going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have a two and a half month gap in my education? And because of the quota.”

“Quota?”

“On the amount of Jews in a certain school,” he explained. “Colleges set a number of Jews they’re willing to admit and it’s pretty low.”

“That ain’t right,” Jack declared, anger evident in his voice. 

“You’re right but it’s not gonna change anytime soon. Hey, don’t worry about it, all right? If I get in and I can afford it, great. If not, I’ll figure something else out. Look at Kath! She didn’t go to college and she’s a star reporter.”

“Whatever,” Jack huffed. “Still ain’t okay.”

“Let’s talk about something else, yeah? Go back to mocking my book.” 

“Dave-”

“Please? I don’t want to talk about it right now.” 

Jack sighed in defeat and nodded. He flipped through the book and stopped on a random page. He laughed. “What? Why are you laughing?”

“It’s instructions on how to court girls, Dave. Is that what you’re studying?” 

David rolled his eyes. 

“Not at the moment but in the past, yes. It’s a valuable skill.” 

“Is it now?” Jack waggled his eyebrows. “One you’ve used?” 

“The girls I’m interested in haven’t tended to be…intellectuals,” he teased.

“Oh yeah?” Jack asked, tongue in cheek. “They’re more physical?” He turned so that one hand was resting on the roof on the opposite side of David’s body. 

“Exactly.”

David wouldn’t have been able to stand up if he wanted to, Jack being practically draped across him as he was. 

“Can I have an example?”

“Sure,” David agreed. “After all, you’ve always got to be nice to your girl.”

“Now that’s just etiquette.”

**Author's Note:**

> I’m not sure if I like this but I haven’t posted anything in awhile so…I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
